Hybrid vehicles are known from the existing art that have a combustion engine, and an electric machine that may be designed for booster operation, for recuperation, and for sole propulsion of the vehicle. In hybrid vehicles of this sort, the electric machine is also used by preference to start the combustion engine. To this end, a starting clutch is disengaged before the combustion engine is started, so that the electric machine can first be accelerated. That is followed by a so-called impulse start by engaging the starting clutch. Such impulse starts are generally critical in terms of comfort, in particular when restarting the hybrid vehicle after shutting off the combustion engine during a vehicle stop, for example at traffic lights or railway crossings or other stops where travel is to be resumed again after a short time. In such situations the driver does not expect any sacrifice of comfort induced by the starting process.